The world of… Tammy Frazer

Marie Le Fort

SOUTH AFRICAN MUSE.

Granddaughter of the founder of Oil of Olay, South African Tammy Frazer had all the makings to join the “great global business.” But instead she chose quite the alternative course – she chose to return to the essence of fragrance. Its roots are imprinted in earth, moss and the African bush, which come through in the olfactory “Chapters” she creates.

With a love for all things natural, Frazer trains local farmers to cultivate untouched landed for harvesting the best ingredients, and then decants their essence into precious bottles. In short, she has established herself by producing the antithesis to the synthetic smells of the twenty-first century by reviving an ancient class of scents with soul.

Accurate and vagabond, her concoctions read like fables. They are called Nutmeg & Jasmine, in memory of an Indian summer. Narcisse & Ylang, echoing a Madagascan effluvium. Everlasting Corsica, capturing the scents of the Island of Beauty. Swiss Stone, mossy and green, like a rainy day in Valais. Coffee & Orange Blossom, a postcard from a trip to Sydney and Ruby Grapefruit & Frankincense, in memory of a lazy summer in the Pakistani desert…

Each of these sensory travelogues is been captured in hand blown flasks made by the artist David Reade, whilst the parfums solides are infused with beeswax and kept in Mozambican Blackwood containers hand carved by local artisans.

Respectful of the work of artisans, local communities and ancestral savoir-faire, Tammy Frazer has created a bridge between the authenticity of provenance, a timeless evolution and the most prestigious of retail brands – Merchants on Long in Cape Town, Annindriya Perfume Lounge in Amsterdam, Colette and Harrod’s. And in doing so, the journey of these unique scents continues to be written.